Baptism by Spit?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Romans 8:35
I don’t feel like there has been enough tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword in my life to tempt me to separate from God. But on a regular basis I get a little magazine from The Voice of the Martyrs that reminds me that this is not the case for a lot of Christians in the world.
There’s a recent article about Christians in Iran who live with persecution everyday. One Iranian Christian woman who was asked about obstacles and difficulties to her faith said, “When they spit on me, I consider that my baptism from God.”
I cannot even imagine what my response to such a disgusting action toward me would be. I am not used to seeing people act like that toward anyone – no less to someone because of their faith in the Lord God! I am afraid I would be terribly wounded by spit.
As I thought about this I thought about how right this lady’s thinking is. I was baptized as a baby but when I came to know the Lord in my late 30s I felt compelled to be baptized. The church that I was in would not have wanted to do it because it was the same denomination I had been baptized in as an infant. But, when I got to a Bible believing/preaching church they were happy to do it.
Before I was baptized the Pastor went to the trouble to teach those of us who were to be immersed why we needed to do it. The number one reason for me was obedience to God’s command, “And Peter said to them, ’Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38). I was also taught that baptism is a way of identifying with Christ. It is a external declaration of an internal change that is made by God when He gives us the gift of faith.
As I thought about this Iranian woman considering the spit of an unbeliever her baptism from God I realized that she is identifying with Christ. He was spit on many times. He can perfectly understand the humiliation of such an act because He experienced it.
She responded with the same depth of faith in God as did Jesus. What great faith!
I am a spoiled rotten Christian. I occasionally run into someone who thinks I’m a zealot of some sort or who backs away and doesn’t ever want to meet me again. But no one has ever spit on me or even called me a name to my face because of my faith. Freedom to worship the God of the Bible is a privilege we often take for granted. I am humbled by a woman who has so much less and seems so much stronger. She sounds content even when she is being spit on!
In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
My personal tendency is to whine and grumble about insults and hardships. I can’t say that I know real persecution (and I am not asking to get to know it). What I would like is to hear about these persecuted Christians and be reminded of the blessings of my life in America. It reminds me that I could lose them in a heartbeat and should be praying for those who are persecuted and for my own freedoms to continue. Sometimes I think we’re slowly losing them in the face of opposition that as “the church” we ignore or pretend aren’t happening.
An important lesson from the faithful Iranian woman is that we can be content in all circumstances. But can we also look at what we have that she doesn’t and begin to work and pray that we don’t get there.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?